Suches Ga.

[Former Admin]

Info, questions, comments, experiences (good or bad) regarding - Suches Ga.

Past/Present hikers - what can future hikers expect here? Have any good stories or memories, would you suggest a maildrop here?

Future hikers - any questions?

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[The Weasel]

"Town" is just a convenience store and a campground. Not worth a maildrop...too close to Springer


The Weasel

[stranger]

Don't really see a point in going in to Suches...Neels Gap is right up the trail with everything you need, and right on the trail.

[Lone Wolf]

If you're at the parking lot at Woody gap hanging out and somebody offers a ride down and back from the grocery, take it. You can getcha a hot dog, coke, fresh popcorn, ice cream,etc., etc. and there is a phone there if you're homesick, lovesick whatever.

[Easyhiker]

I camped at Woody Gap and in the morning went into Suches (first car hitch), I sat around drinking coffee with the local minister, a state cop, and Wes Wisson (his locale) for about 45 minutes shooting the **** in there consolidated resturant, gas station,grocery store, etc. (thats all thats there) I sure didn't feel like I was in Chicago anymore. I think it is a great stop if you only want to start out with 2 days of food instead of four (not the reason I went there though, I needed smokes). Anyways they got a great selection of trailable food for those that don't like maildrops and like to keep their pack weight to a minimum.

[Sailor (The other one)]

We were at Suches two weeks ago for a mail drop and to check out the store. For exceptionally slow hikers like us the mail drop was convenient. We were offered a ride into town before we even got to Woody Gap.
But the store has changed ownership and had very few hiker supplies. No denatured, no Heet, no Ibuprofen. Great Sausage biscuit sandwhich though. We were told the new owner is trying to improve the stock.

[FatMan]

The Suches General Store was closed at the end of August as the owner (Dale) has had some serious health problems. He had the store up for sale with no bites. The landlord re-opened the store in late Sept and is currently running it in hopes of finding a buyer. Last I heard they are still asking stupid money. The store is near empty and there are no backpacking supplies. About the only reason to go there is if you want a pack of smokes or a soft drink. The Suches General store should be removed from all guides IMO. With Mountain Crossings a day away a resupply in Suches is a waste of time.

[Boudin]

We will miss Dale's. It was a good place to get ice cream, shoot the breeze with the old timers, and watch the crotch rockets. Where is Mr. Owens going to sell his raffle tickets now? He was always trying to get us to buy a chance on something (quilt, rifle, etc.).

[Ron Haven]

What everyone said was true.If the weather turns nasty,you can call Josh Saints at the hiker hostel,also I've heard horrow stories about people parking cars overnight at Woody Gap.

[TJ aka Teej]

What everyone said was true.If the weather turns nasty,you can call Josh Saints at the hiker hostel,also I've heard horrow stories about people parking cars overnight at Woody Gap.

Thanks Ron, always good to hear updates from those in the know!

[Jack Tarlin]

Re-read post #3, above.

There's no need to go into town from Woody Gap.

The majority of folks who feel the need to get off the Trail 20 miles into their hike are going to be heading home real soon.

[Lone Wolf]

We will miss Dale's. It was a good place to get ice cream, shoot the breeze with the old timers, and watch the crotch rockets. Where is Mr. Owens going to sell his raffle tickets now? He was always trying to get us to buy a chance on something (quilt, rifle, etc.).

good for locals but hikers won't know the difference

[CrumbSnatcher]

if i was going to overnight it between neels and woody i always carried hotdogs,buns,onion, chili sauce from the store and shared with who ever was around that night. for me it was always hard to pass up a pepsi,even if it was only 20 miles up the trail.

[Many Walks]

We got a quick hitch into Suches and sent back some gear at the PO right next to the gas station/store. Across the street we pitched our tent at the Two Wheel Only Campground for $7, which included nice showers. We had some great food with good company at the TWO restaurant. We headed up the trail the next day much lighter and in good spirits. I'd recommend the TWO campground to anyone. It was a great stop for us. At Neel's we sent back more gear and had hot dogs for breakfast...life was good!

[Kirby]

Re-read post #3, above.

There's no need to go into town from Woody Gap.

The majority of folks who feel the need to get off the Trail 20 miles into their hike are going to be heading home real soon.

I went off trail at Woody's Gap to stay the the Hiker Hostel and proceeded to walk to Maine.

Kirby

[Sailor (The other one)]

Don't really see a point in going in to Suches...Neels Gap is right up the trail with everything you need, and right on the trail.

Re-read post #3, above.

There's no need to go into town from Woody Gap.

The majority of folks who feel the need to get off the Trail 20 miles into their hike are going to be heading home real soon.

Rather myopic views. Not everyone using the AT is thru hiking, not everyone needs (or can) make the same mileage, not everyone has to hike the same hike. My wife has a disability that has limited her mileage. On our first AT trip last year, she could only do 2.5 miles before the pain was too much even with medication. Over the past year she has worked her way up to five miles a day. She refuses to let her problem stop her from enjoying backpacking, including using the AT. Our last trip was only a two week vacation, and with her mileage restriction and where we started, re-supplying at Suches made perfect sense for us, rather than carrying more than four days worth of food. We experimented with a maildrop there since we'd never done a maildrop before, and I'm glad we did. It gave us enough food to continue our slow way to Neel's gap and a wonderful two days at Mountain Crossings. Winton and his staff are incredible. They treated us like family, with Alpine spending four hours talking with us about gear, even though we were not thru hiking and not spending lots of money. He loaned us trekking poles, which we'd never used before, for our second week and opened our eyes to their value. If we thought we needed to hike your way, we would have missed this, and more. If there are any other newbies reading this, or any other slow pokes, you don't have to let anyone dictate how you enjoy the AT.

[FatMan]

RBrownkatz, et al;

As a near full time resident of Suches, let me assure everyone that it was not my intent in my post to suggest that nobody should come off the trail at Suches. I just wanted to inform all hikers that the General Store (Dale's) is not what it used to be and anyone hoping to resupply will be quite disappointed. Suches is a great place to visit for an early mail drop, a sandwich and soft drink, (no beer unless you come to my house) and the folks are most friendly and will be happy to help with any situation. And TWO (Two Wheels Only) is a neat place where you can camp with the biker crowd on Canada Creek. But if you catch them in the wrong mood they may throw their motorcycle required policy at you and don't count on any space being available during the weekends in the spring or fall.

And Boudin, since the community rigorously supports Woody Gap School, our K-12 school (I believe the only one in the state), and our Volunteer Fire Dept, I can assure you that you will still be able to buy raffle tickets at the store. Some things will never change.

[Bob McCaw]

Does anyone know the phone number of the new owner of the store? I'd like to speak with him for an entry in the Thru-hiker's Handbook.

Maybe we can collectively put a bug in his ear about hiker needs.